Website Design: When to DIY or Hire a Professional

​With all the self-proclaimed DIY (do-it-yourself) drag and drop website builders like Wix, Weebly and even Squarespace, it may seem appealing to building your website on your own.

There are times when do-it-yourself website design is appropriate:

If you’re having a bake sale

Building a website for your wedding

Starting a simple journal / blog

Creating an online scrapbook of your trip to Europe

In these cases, it might be fun to design and build your own website. The sense of accomplishment is satisfying and it’s fun to learn through challenging yourself with something new like website design.

However, it would not be appropriate to build your own website when you have your own intellectual property (business model) money (capital, investment) and sales (potential customers) all thrown in the mix.

It would not be appropriate to do it yourself and build a website on your own for projects like:

Your new business

Startup idea

eCommerce store

Publishing platform

SEO campaign

Without the help of a professional, you’ll be kissing that money and time goodbye. What you think you may save on your marketing budget will be made up in time spent being frustrated with the website builder or not knowing how to get exactly what you want out of your website. Clients come to me all the time asking me why they should pay me a couple thousand dollars when they can do it themselves.

Sure, you can do it yourself but first ask yourself:

Do I have a proven track record of generating leads online?

Do I have a network of web professionals to ask for advice when designing a website or marketing campaign?

Do I know how to optimize for user experience?

Have I planned and tracked a successful SEO or PPC campaign?

Do I know your hex codes from your H tags?

Do I know how to compress images for the web?

I could go on and on, but truth is, most business owners don’t know the first thing about effective web design when it comes to actually making money from their website.

This is only to prove a point that if you didn’t go to mechanic school, would you build your own car? If you didn’t go to dental school, would you perform your own dental procedure? No. You’d leave it to and trust in a professional to provide you that service at the highest possible level. Treat your website and digital marketing in the same way.

You’ll be so much happier when you just have to make a request and it is taken care of, instead of having to spend hours looking up how to do it on your own. Plus, it’s always nice to expand your professional network and you never know, you may just find a new friend in your web designer too!

Ready to quit doing it yourself and let an expert take over? Let’s get in touch! [Contact me here]